Lower Murray Water (LMW) has seen an increase to the City’s water consumption in the past few weeks, including usage spikes when the temperatures reached into the 40’s.

Over the past week Lower Murray has seen some extreme temperatures, reaching 45 degrees last Saturday.

This impacted demand at water treatment plants across the district, with its water treatment plant providing over 60ML (Million Litres) of water to households each day last Saturday and Sunday in the Mildura area.

During the cooler months this figure is more than halved.

LMW reminds customers of the importance to follow the Permanent Water Saving Rules which remain in place year round.

Gardens and lawns can be watered from 6pm – 10am daily and a hand-held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle can be used at any time.

The watering times are designed to ensure customers are not watering during the hottest part of the day when evaporation occurs, and is least effective for watering your garden and lawn areas.

This also ensures Lower Murray can continue to supply vital water for households and industry during these peak demand times.

LMW regularly patrols areas within the region to educate customers of these times. If you have any concerns they encourage customers to contact their compliance team.

Manager Communications & Engagement, Leesa Merrett said with the hot weather and many visitors in the region for the school holidays Lower Murray generally sees an increase in consumption.

“Customers watering gardens and lawns and evaporative air conditioners being used round the clock impacts on daily consumption.”

“On average Mildura households consume a higher amount of water compared to our metropolitan counterparts due to the larger scale of household block size, larger garden and lawn areas, use of evaporative air-conditioning and the extreme temperatures experienced in the Mallee region.”

“During the Christmas period we continued to provide safe, clean drinking water to households with our operations staff continuing to monitor and test water samples and oversee the treatment plant operations.”

“While many were home enjoying Christmas lunch our dedicated team continued to work hard to provide the vital service of drinking water for the town.’ Ms Merrett said.

For more information about the watering times please visit their website www.lmw.vic.gov.au or follow them on Facebook.